Rachel Phelps, a former Las Vegas showgirl, has inherited the Cleveland Indians baseball team from her deceased husband. She wants to move the team to the warmer climate of Miami. In order to do this, she must reduce attendance at Municipal Stadium below a total of 800,000 ticket sales which will trigger an escape clause in the team’s lease with the city of Cleveland. After she moves the team, she would also be able to release all the current players and replace them with new ones. She instructs her new General Manager Charlie Donovan to hire the worst team possible from a list she has already prepared. The list includes veteran catcher Jake Taylor, who has problems with his knees, and was last playing in Mexico, incarcerated pitcher Rick Vaughn, the brash but speedy center fielder Willie “Mays” Hayes (who was not invited to camp), power hitting outfielder Pedro Cerrano, who practices voodoo to try to help him hit curve balls, veteran pitcher Eddie Harris, who lacks a strong throwing arm and is forced to doctor his pitches, and third baseman Roger Dorn, who is already under contract but is a high-priced prima donna. As manager, Phelps hires Lou Brown, a tire salesman who “has managed the Toledo Mud Hens for the last 30 years”.

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With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Hayes manages to single to first and subsequently steals second. Taylor is next to bat, and after signaling back and forth with Brown, points to the bleachers, calling his shot. However, Taylor bunts instead, catching the Yankees infield off-guard. Despite his weak knees, Taylor get to the first base safely. Hayes, knowing that the infield is focused on catching Taylor at the first base, clears the third base and goes for the home, catching the Yankees off guard again. Hayes slides safe into home, giving the Indians the win. As the team celebrates, Dorn punches Vaughn in the face but then helps him up to continue the celebration, while Jake finds Lynn in the stands, who raises her left hand to show that she is no longer wearing an engagement ring, indicating that she wishes to be with him.